The seven things every recruitable Australian player should be doing, most of which have nothing to do with basketball.
1. Start early
Reaching out to coaches early puts you on their radar and lets them track your progress over years. Sharing your stats with coaches each season means that by the time you reach Year 12, they know who you are.
It's common for coaches to not respond to emails when you send them your basketball resume in Year 9 or 10, don't feel discouraged. It's the first step towards name recognition.
What should I be doing each year?
Year 9 (Freshman). PLAN
- Consider your subject choices at school (see Academic Requirements)
Year 10 (Sophomore). REGISTER
- Register for an NCAA Profile Page or Certification account
- If you're falling behind academically, don't take shortcuts, put the effort in
- Get exposure to AAU basketball (see AUSA Tours)
Year 11 (Junior). STUDY
- Check you're on track to complete the required courses
- Get exposure to AAU basketball (see AUSA Tours)
- Update your NCAA account with sports participation information
- At the end of the year, ask your school to submit your official transcript to the NCAA Eligibility Centre
Year 12 (Senior). GRADUATE
- Play AAU basketball in July (see AUSA Tours)
- Introduce yourself to coaches at the appropriate level (with grades, highlight tape, plans to play AAU in April etc.)
- Promote yourself via Twitter/X
- Request final amateurism certification (NCAA D1/D2)
- After you graduate, ask your school to submit your final official transcript with proof of graduation to the NCAA Eligibility Centre
2. Practice formality
When emailing coaches, format your emails correctly, use proper grammar, and have a clear understanding of what you're saying. An email should be much more formal than a text message, address the coach properly and sign off with your name.
Use a professional email address. Nobody wants to recruit bigdaddy@gmail.com, instead, use something like joshsmith1@gmail.com.
Do some research about the coach and the school's basketball program. If you can comment on things you like about the program and express interest, it adds to the conversation. Your ability to communicate with coaches plays an important role in earning a scholarship.
3. Highlight tape
To make a coach on the other side of the world sit up and take notice, you'll need a great highlight tape. Coaches get sent hundreds of videos, they look for specific elements that set you apart.
The most important thing is to know who you are as a player:
- Are you a defensive-minded point guard who is pass-first?
- Are you a high-flying wing who knocks down open threes?
- Are you a big-bodied banger who patrols the paint and protects the rim?
Read more in our guide on how to make a highlight tape.
4. Research the schools you want to attend
An important and often overlooked step in recruiting. Things to keep in mind:
- Academics, visit the school's website to see average grades and test scores. Check which majors are offered and ask the coach which majors are popular among athletes on the team.
- Athletics, use your high school or club coach to help you assess where you can make an impact, or visit a team's roster and analyse the athletes' key stats.
- Cost, how much can your family afford and how much aid is the student-athlete eligible to receive at each school?
- Personal preferences, housing options, school size, social aspects, distance from home, weather.
As you find programs you're interested in, sort them into three categories: target schools, dream schools, and safety schools. Most of the schools on a player's list should fall into the target category.
bigfuture.collegeboard.org is a useful filtering tool, by two/four-year colleges, sports, athletic scholarships, and major.
5. Improve your academics
Players often underestimate the advantage academics can have on scholarship potential. If you meet the minimum qualifications for an academic scholarship, that won't count towards the coach's athletic budget.
It's not a guarantee, but it does mean you could be placed on a team above your athletic skill level, coaches are more willing to take on athletes who'll raise their team's GPA.
Read more about academic and international requirements.
6. Provide multiple references
The more references you can provide, the better-rounded you appear as both player and student. Ask your coaches and teachers if they're willing to provide a reference. Most will be more than happy.
Without references, you might come across as someone people aren't willing to support.
7. Promote yourself using Twitter/X
This might seem strange to Australians, but Twitter/X is huge in US basketball recruiting. All college coaches, scouts, and recruiters are on Twitter/X, looking at players' profiles, watching videos, communicating with potential recruits.
If you're unfamiliar with the process, treat your Twitter/X profile like a public-facing recruiting profile: clean photo, professional bio, height/weight/class/position, links to your highlight tape, and frequent updates with your stats and game footage.